Rib fest, yard sale, tractor event all in Van Wert

VAN WERT — Looking for something to do this weekend? Van Wert has plenty to offer.

“There’s actually three events that are happening simultaneously,” said Larry Lee, executive director of the Van Wert Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

First, the 127 Yard Sale continues through Sunday. The huge yard sale follows U.S. 127 from Michigan to Alabama, and every town along its route participates.

“It’s a real traffic jam,” Lee said, explaining as many as 60,000 extra people are estimated to be going through town for the event. “It draws people from literally all over the United States.”

There are three main areas around Van Wert for booths: A Methodist church north of town, a Presbyterian church in town and the commercial building at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds. If you’re visiting the fairgrounds, use the gate off Washington Street. The sales usually run about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with fewer open on Sunday, Lee said.

Garage salers should make a note: The Lincoln Highway yard sales start Thursday and continue through Aug. 10.

The second event in town is the seventh annual Van Wert Ribfest, also at the fairgrounds but near the intersection of U.S. 127 and Fox Road. Use the Fox Road entrance, and admission is $2. Gates open at 5 p.m. today and 11 a.m. Saturday, and the party closes daily at 12:30 a.m.

There will be several bands, rib vendors and vendors with businesses related to ribs, such as grills. The headliners are The Earthquakers on Saturday night.

“They were here last year and got chased out by a tornado, so we brought them back this year,” Lee said.

The event is a fundraiser for the Van Wert Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The third event is the Jon Amundson Memorial Tractor Ride. Any pre-1970 rubber-tired tractor is invited to participate in a slow crawl to the Mendon area, Lee said. Amundson was an organizer who died this spring. A free breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Kennedy-Kuhn on U.S. 224 west of town, and the ride starts at 9:30 a.m.

“People who don’t have a tractor but would like to take part, they do have wagons with seats on it. You can just take the tour,” Lee said.

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